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X-WR-CALNAME:SAAO
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.saao.ac.za
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for SAAO
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TZID:Africa/Johannesburg
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DTSTART:20260101T000000
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DTSTART;TZID=Africa/Johannesburg:20260613T200000
DTEND;TZID=Africa/Johannesburg:20260613T220000
DTSTAMP:20260614T120052
CREATED:20260526T105355Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260612T104644Z
UID:25862-1781380800-1781388000@www.saao.ac.za
SUMMARY:NRF|SAAO Cape Town Open Night
DESCRIPTION:Join us for Open Nights at the South African Astronomical Observatory (NRF/SAAO) in Cape Town\, held on the second and fourth Saturday of every month. \nEach evening begins with an engaging presentation on astronomy or a related field of science\, followed by a guided tour of the Observatory’s rich history—including our library\, museum\, and the historic 120-year-old McClean Telescope. \nWeather permitting\, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy stargazing through the McClean and additional smaller telescopes. \n\n\n\nGates open at 7:30 PM.\nFree entry for children aged 6 and under.\n\n\n\nPlease email cptbookings@saao.ac.za or call +27 21 447 0025 if you have any queries regarding bookings. \n\n\n\n\nSpeaker: Chase Alvarado-Anderson \n \nBio: Chase Alvarado-Anderson is a Ph.D. student in Earth and Planetary Sciences at Stanford University. His research explores how rocky planets form\, evolve\, and become potentially habitable by linking planetary interiors\, atmospheres\, climate\, and observations of exoplanets. He earned a B.A. in Astronomy from Dartmouth College and is passionate about science communication\, sustainability\, and making astronomy accessible to wider audiences. \nAbstract: “How to Build a Habitable World: A Cosmic Recipe for Planets\, Atmospheres\, and Life” \nWhat makes a planet habitable? It is not just being at the right distance from a star. A planet’s ability to support life depends on its whole history: how it formed\, what it is made of\, how its interior evolved\, what gases it released\, and whether its climate stayed stable over time. \nThis talk will take you from the first moments of planet formation to the atmospheres of alien worlds. We will explore giant impacts\, magma oceans\, volcanoes\, Venus-like greenhouse worlds\, frozen planets\, tidally locked “eyeball” planets\, and the TRAPPIST-1 system. We will also discuss how telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope can read the “barcode” of a planet’s atmosphere from light-years away. By the end\, we will see why the search for life is really the search for planetary stories. \n 
URL:https://www.saao.ac.za/event/nrfsaao-cape-town-open-night-34/
LOCATION:Cape Town\, Observatory Rd\, Observatory\, Cape Town\, 7925\, South Africa
CATEGORIES:Cape Town Tours
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